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About this visa

On 23 November 2014 new Work and Holiday (subclass 462) arrangements with Spain and Portugal will commence.

On 22 October 2014, a new Work and Holiday arrangement was signed with Israel, establishing a reciprocal Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462) arrangement between our two countries. The Work and Holiday arrangements with Israel and Greece will not come in to effect until start dates have been agreed.See: Australia and Israel sign a new Work and Holiday visa arrangement

The Work and Holiday (Temporary) visa (subclass 462) is for young people who want to holiday and work in Australia for up to a year.

It is a temporary visa that encourages cultural exchange and closer ties between Australia and eligible countries.

What this visa lets you do

This visa allows you to:

stay in Australia for up to 12 months

work in Australia for up to six months with each employer

study for up to four months

leave and re-enter Australia any number of times while the visa is valid.

Before you apply

You must be outside Australia when you apply for this visa.

Visa limits

There is an annual limit to the number of Work and Holiday visas issued to each country. No applications will be approved once this limit is reached.

For Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Turkey, the immigration office outside Australia that processes applications from nationals of those countries can tell you how many visas are available.

Your passport

You need a valid passport issued by an eligible country for this visa. If you plan to get a new passport, you should do so before applying for your visa. Your visa is linked to the passport number you use in your application. If you get a new passport after you have lodged your application, give the details of your new passport to one of our offices.

have a letter of support from your government (except applicants from the USA)

meet character and health requirements

are a genuine visitor.

Eligible countries

You can apply for this visa if you hold a passport from:

Argentina

Bangladesh

Chile

Indonesia

Malaysia

Poland

Portugal

Spain

Thailand

Turkey

United States of America

Uruguay.

Education

Depending on the passport you hold, the education requirements may be slightly different.

If you are from the United States of America, you must hold a secondary school (high school) qualification.

If you are from Argentina, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Turkey, Malaysia, Poland, Portugal, Spain or Uruguay, you must hold a tertiary qualification or have satisfactorily completed at least two years of undergraduate university study.

If you are from Chile, you must hold a tertiary qualification or have satisfactorily completed or have been approved to do a third year of undergraduate university study.

If you are from Thailand, you must hold a diploma or degree qualification from the specified list of eligible qualifications included inForm 1208Application for a Work and Holiday Visa (192 KB PDF).

Functional English

You must provide evidence that you have at least functional English. This can be:

evidence you are a citizen of and hold a valid passport issued by the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, New Zealand, or the Republic of Ireland

an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) average band score of at least 4.5 for the four test components (speaking, reading, listening and writing) completed within 12 months of visa application lodgement

a Test Of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score of 133 on a computer-based test, 450 on a paper-based test or 45-46 on an internet-based test, completed within 12 months of visa application lodgement

the Occupational English Test (OET) completed within 12 months of visa application lodgement

a Test of English as a Foreign Language internet-Based Test (TOEFL iBT) total band score of at least 32 for the four test components of speaking, reading, writing and listening completed within 12 months of visa application lodgement

a Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic) overall band score of at least 30 for the four test components of speaking, reading, writing and listening completed within 12 months of visa application lodgement

a Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) test overall band score of at least 147 for the four test components of speaking, reading, writing and listening and the test must have been taken on or after 1 January 2015

all years of primary education and at least three years of secondary school at an institution where all the instruction was in English

at least five years of secondary education (high school) at an educational institution in which all instruction was in English

a post-secondary qualification with at least two years of full-time study, in which all tuition was in English

at least one year of full-time study or equivalent towards a degree, higher degree, diploma or associate diploma at an Australian institution where all the instruction was in English.

Letter of government support

You must include a letter of support from your home government with your application. This letter does not guarantee you a place in the Work and Holiday visa program.

If you are from the USA, you do not have to provide a letter of government support.

If you are a Malaysian citizen you need to provide a Malaysian Good Conduct Certificate, which can only be applied for online by selecting the 'e-Consular' link on the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.

Health requirements

You must meet certain health requirements. The health examinations you need will depend on your personal circumstances, including your period of stay, country of citizenship, time spent in another country during the last five years and your intended activities in Australia. The results of your health examinations are generally valid for 12 months.

Health insurance

You are responsible for all your health costs while you are in Australia. You will not be covered by Australia's national health scheme (Medicare) unless your country has a reciprocal health care agreement with Australia.

We recommend that you take out health insurance each time you travel to Australia.

Character requirements

You must meet certain character requirements. You must be prepared to provide a police certificate from each country you have lived in for 12 months or more during the past 10 years after you turned 16 years of age. Do not arrange for police certificates until we ask you to.

Debts to the Australian Government

You must have no outstanding debts to the Australian Government or have arranged to repay any outstanding debts to the Australian Government before this visa can be granted.

More information

There is more information to help you prepare your application, such as certifying and translating documents into English, communicating with us, using a migration agent, authorising another person to receive information from us, and receiving assistance with your application.​​

After you have applied

After you have lodged your application and documents, we will let you know that we have received your information.

If you are a citizen of the USA, you can track and manage your application using ImmiAccount.

We could also ask you for more information. You will have to respond by a set date. After that date, we can make a decision about your application using the information that we have.

If you applied online, you can provide additional information, including Form 1023, using ImmiAccount.

If another person gives us information that could result in you being refused a visa, we will usually give you the opportunity to comment on the information.

You might also be interviewed. If you are asked to attend an interview in person, bring your passport or other identification and any requested documents to the interview.

Report changes in your circumstances

You must tell us if your circumstances change. This includes a new residential address, a new passport, or a pregnancy, birth, divorce, separation, marriage, de facto relationship or death in your family.

If you applied online, you might be able to update your address and passport details using ImmiAccount.

If you do not provide us with the details of any new passport issued to you, you could experience significant delays at the airport and may be denied permission to board your plane.

Withdrawing your application

You can withdraw the application by advising us in writing at any time before we make a decision about your application. To do this, you must send us a letter or email requesting the withdrawal. Your request must include your full name, date of birth, date of application, and file reference number/transaction reference number (if known).

How long your visa lasts

enter Australia within 12 months from the date your visa is granted (this cannot be extended or deferred)

stay in Australia for up to 12 months from the date you first enter Australia (this is the date the 12-month stay on your visa starts)

leave and re-enter Australia any number of times while the visa is valid.

Extending your stay in Australia

The Work and Holiday visa lets you stay in Australia for 12 months. Any time spent outside Australia after the 12-month stay on your visa starts does not extend the length of the visa.

You may be able to apply for a different visa to extend your stay only if your visa is not granted with a 'no further stay' condition. You will be advised of this in your visa grant letter. Holders of visas without this condition can apply for a limited number of other visas while in Australia. You should contact your nearest immigration office in Australia to discuss your options.

Starting the 12-month stay period on your Work and Holiday visa

The 12-month stay period on your Work and Holiday visa will start if you enter Australia:

as a transit passenger

on an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA)

on a Crew Travel Authority (CTA)

on a Maritime Crew Visa (MCV).

Once the 12-month stay period starts, it cannot be delayed or deferred.

If you hold a Work and Holiday visa and want to enter Australia on another visa, you should:

ask us to cancel your Work and Holiday visa before you travel to Australia (you can reapply for another Work and Holiday visa at a later stage)

after you have confirmation that your Work and Holiday visa has been cancelled, apply for another visa.

This will allow you to avoid accidentally using your Work and Holiday visa.

Your obligations

You must comply with all visa conditions and Australian laws. Your dependent children cannot be with you at any time during your stay.

Working in Australia

If you hold a Working Holiday visa, the main purpose of your visit must be for an extended holiday. You can do any kind of work over the course of your 12 month stay in Australia, however all Working Holiday visa holders are limited to a maximum period of six months work with any one employer. This limitation applies to all employers and all forms of work.

The 'employer' is the business or organisation for which you are working directly.

If you are referred by an agency or labour supplier to a business, you can work for six months for that business. The same agency or labour supplier can refer you to another business where you can work for another six months. You cannot stay in the same position with an employer for more than six months by using different employment agencies, business affiliates or sub-contracting arrangements.

Working for longer than six months with the same organisation, regardless of whether the duties or location of the employee change, is generally not allowed (see extending the work limitation below). A Working Holiday visa holder may, work for independently owned franchises located in different areas for up to six months at each, as long as the franchisees are different employers with different Australian Business Numbers.

The six month work limitation applies to full-time, part-time, casual, shift and voluntary work.

Volunteer work is subject to the six month employment limitation. You are able to undertake volunteer work activities for an organisation or employer for up to six months.

Workplace-based training is considered to be work. You are able to undertake workplace-based training with the same employer for up to six months.

If you hold a second Working Holiday visa, you may return to work for a further six months for an employer with whom you worked on your first Working Holiday visa.

Permission to work longer than six months with an employer is only granted in exceptional circumstances.

The Visa Pricing Estimator requires you to answer the questions as accurately as possible to provide you with an estimate for lodging a visa application. The estimator does not include the second instalment of the visa application charge which is payable for some visas. Please note this is an estimate for a visa application, if you have already lodged your application and you want to change/add applicants please refer to the Visa Pricing Table. The Department of Immigration and Border Protection Visa Pricing Estimator will give you an estimate of the charges you may need to pay to lodge a visa application. This is paid after you have made your application but before the visa can be granted. Read the department's full disclaimer. The Commonwealth of Australia does not guarantee the accuracy, currency or completeness of any material in the Visa Pricing Estimator.